Anime Abandon: Wolf's Rain

[@Mablak200]

Wolf's Rain is utterly unique, and not just due to the premise. Anime with this kind of tone and feel just don't exist anymore; you can't find this kind of bleakness in the moe era. There's a certain meandering to the plot, a lack of characterization, etc, but it's well worth watching. Also them wolves made me cry.

[@ZeroFighter]

There's a reason stuff like this doesn't exist anymore. I used to LOVE this show when it was airing on US TV. If I could go back to that point in my life, I'd have to kick my own as for what an edgelord I was. No amount of rose-tinted glasses can mask what absolute cringe this shit is, and if I ever feel like I've stagnated in life, all I have to do is remember that I thought this was a great show at some point in my life to see how far I've really come. My friends and I use Wolf's Rain- a show we ALL loved- as a punching bag, and as a sort of gold standard for how to make cringy bullshit.

[@Mablak200]

@@ZeroFighter The show is exceptionally good, not sure where the cringe you're talking about is coming from. Is it the Twilight vibes of teenage basically-werewolves? I mean the animation, VA work, and music are still exceptional, and the atmosphere of the show is great. It's not so much edgy as brooding or bleak. Sure our younger selves might have thought shows like these were the 'deepest thing ever', but something can still be good even if you overinflated it as a kid/teenager.

[@ZeroFighter]

@@Mablak200 I literally bought the whole DVD collection a few months ago out of nostalgia, and it was so cringy, I never got past episode 3. Seriously, episode fucking one, Tsume tells his gang to pull Kiba out from where he was resting after the latter had been shot, implying that whatever plans they might have had- selling or eating- were to be disregarded. As soon as one of the guys reaches in to pull Kiba out, he gets his throat ripped out, as does the guy next to him. Kiba then runs away, and Tsume gives chase. When Tsume confronts him on this, Kiba justifies the double-kill by saying, "I was protecting myself." Because he was able to jump into action so quickly when the dude only began to reach in, this means that Kiba had been alert enough to hear what was being said, and thus we know that he was most likely able to smell Tsume for what he was, as well as hear that any of the ideas they'd been throwing around, Tsume was shooting down. The conversation then follows from Tsume to Kiba. "Don't be so quick to kill." "What's wrong with killing?" "I don't know what mountain you came down from, but you're in the city now; there are rules." "Rules? Is running around the city with a pack of idiots one of the rules?" Seriously, that little snippet of conversation is all you need to see how edgy the show is trying to be. The fact that this sort of dynamic persists throughout the show, and barely changes, save for a few less snaps of the jaws to each other's throats only serves to drive home that the target demographic is angsty teens and pre-teens. It aired in the US when I was 13 years old, and that is why I liked it. You know what else I liked around that time? Evanescence. I wasn't exactly the go-to expert on artistic taste. Wolf's Rain was just an edgy story to be sold to edgy youth just coming out of middle school; the 'chunibyo' demographic, to put it in terms even casual weebs can understand.

[@ColonelCarnage]

I’m watching it for the first time and it’s boring and confusing. There are some good parts here and there but it feels like a slog to get through. I straight up skipped the FOUR freaking recap episodes.

[@johnnybelle2686]

@@ColonelCarnage there was a reason 4 recap episodes happened. Bones had to stop production cos of the SARS outbreak (which is funnily enough, a type of coronavirus). And at the time, they couldn't delay the show and had to keep to the TV programming schedule, so they aired 4 recap episodes while they worked on the next ones. That's why there are 4 OVA which ends the series. It's because those 4 would've been the original ep 23-26, but cos of what I mentioned before , they shifted along and had to be released on DVD

[@jexxxvox]

I guess that's the difference between me and most critics; while fully capable of making deeper connections and comparisons across various forms of media and genre, I'm also fully capable of enjoying a piece of art only on it's own merits- "in a vaccum", if you will. I thoroughly enjoyed Wolf's Rain and grew a personal connection to it as a beautiful artistic and philosophical experience of it's own independent merit. Hell, I'd probably even put it in my top five anime. I experienced it not as a checklist of quality to be inspected for flaws, but as a unique whole; experienced and absorbed by me according to my personal taste alone in story, music and art. It spoke to me not because of any academic merit, but because of the connection to it my own life's journey had seen fit to afford me.

[@SilvarusLupus]

**crawls up from my hole** I actually really like Wolf's Rain and its crazy ass plot

[@katelynpringle5506]

**pops up from under a sewer grate** I too prefer it. I didn't get into anime for normalcy

[@MetalPcAngel]

*Snakes out from my bodypillow* I LOVE ANIMU.

[@LoveNeko64]

I did too, I sang all the songs at church lol. I was obsessed.

[@gtsgreatteacherscathach5550]

I loved it too but there was some complaints but at the end of the day, it was enjoyable.

[@mariawhite7337]

This series traumatized me when I watched it. Everyone I loved and cared for died. That never happened in anything I watched before.

[@V4Now]

This anime is worth it for the last 4 episodes alone. Damn heart breaking, made me tear up.

[@Fickji]

I kinda feel the opposite. I felt like the last 4 episodes was the staff giving up because they didn't know how to end it. But I certainly still remember it.

[@V4Now]

@@Fickji makes perfect sense to me, old fairytales usually had a bad or bitter sweet ending. In this one the world was going to end and the wolves triggered a rebirth of the planet and everyone was reborn from paradise.

[@azazellon]

TOBOE MY CHILD

[@aichafrikha]

still made me cry with gusto even after 17 years

[@Zoomy222]

It's the best written ending to any show. I don't want to spoil anything, but it's a lesson on how to end a show. This is coming from a non otaku. I have very few animies I LOVE. This is #1 or #2

[@EvilCronos13]

Wolf's Rain is my favorite series of all time. This is due to a number of factors, but I don't really disagree with any of Ben's criticisms either. I didn't know this series had anything to do with anyone who worked on Bebop, other than Yoko Kanno, until just now. I found this series online when I was younger and knew nothing about it. I just loved the atmosphere and the music and the visuals. For me it was a series that I enjoyed by emotion more than by traditional means like storytelling and character development. I watched other shows around the same time like Bebop and Trigun and Champloo and I could identify better storytelling methods and direction to an extent in some episodes, but nothing gave me that feeling that I got when I watched Wolf's Rain. that's why it has been my favorite series since I watched it more than 12 years ago.

[@ZaCloud-Animations___she-her]

I just want to take a second and thank you for your well-balanced and politely worded feelings toward the show, even though they're different from those of Bennett. You acknowledge his points, yet list the reasons you loved the show in spite of said points. Perfect way to express an opposing viewpoint. :) And yeah, everyone has different factors that their own, individual personalities decide are most important in entertainment. It's like each is on a graph, and everyone's got different measurements of which factors get priority. Facts can be observed and pointed out, while feelings still are up to the individual, often with their own facts backing them up. I'm glad to see someone online expressing this with oldskool class. :) Take care.

[@EvilCronos13]

@@ZaCloud-Animations___she-her Thanks for the kind words! :)

[@kogalover102]

Same for me as well, no idea about the series/who made it. Never got to finish it as a kid but I did as an adult, bought the manga and after reading the manga I think its biggest flaw was it was seen as a flop in Japan so the manga itself wasnt finished, the story abruptly ended without a real ending so one had to be made for the anime. If the manga had done better in japan then we might have had a better anime with a better and less confusing ending.

[@rachelprather3810]

Same! I was 12 when I saw Wolf's Rain the first night it aired on Adult Swim (4/24/04) and it was my introduction to anime, and remains my favorite series almost 15 years later. I adore it and owe it so much. I've heard every criticism there is for it over the years and I agree with some since I recognize my continuing love for the series is largely nostalgic, but I think a lot of people who criticize it do so for some unfair reasons (comparing it to Bebop, not understanding that ending or being willing to think outside the box to understand it, criticizing the characters in ways that don't acknowledge they are not human, etc), or they overlook some of what made it incredible (the voice acting in both dub and sub, the soundtrack, the gorgeous animation, the emotional heartwrenching masterpiece of the OVAs). I'll defend this series until my death.

[@hoonie3792]

╮(╯▽╰)╭ ah these wholesome comments of wolf rain make me so happy

[@RossardJames]

One thing I will say about Wolf’s Rain: the dub is great and packed with well known voice actors.

[@Trilaan]

I like them all but Hige. The voice just isn't deep enough.

[@LeoBeastmode]

@@Trilaan who? Tai?

[@adambesley4455]

I agree. It is near perfect with career highlights for quite a few of the cast.

[@spiritwolf5792]

the dub is great? wut? did you watch it in something else than english then? in original maybe? because, after watching it in Italian then original, I could only bare 2 episodes in English before dropping out of it.

[@youthful6098]

Glad I watched it in eng dub. Helped me so much to understand the anime.

[@PSPownsmeself]

In defense the wolves being kind of "shallow" I think the idea was to legit portray them as wolves. While wolves are intelligent animals, they're still beasts first and foremost. Kiba being instinctually driven is a prime example, he's not a person like Spike or Mugen, he's a dog. Toboe showing more emotion comes from him still being a pup and raised around humans most of his life, while Hige is traumatized by his past and has something to hide. Otherwise they're not supposed to be very relatable. Fair review but I personally loved Wolf's Rain. More than, dare I say, Samurai Champloo. 🔫

[@liltaki1270]

im rewatching it now to show my gf, and she loves it as well. i felt the same about the wolves characters as they are wolves and to see them as us (humans) is putting on something that doesnt need to be

[@sepnot]

The best way to describe this show is dream-like. You experience it, aware of what's going on around you, but only through a thick cloud of haze. It's a prescribed feeling, not necessary to be analyzed. One moment it's all there is, until there is no more. I haven't experienced a show since that left me with a serene sense of unknown and vagueness that wasn't simply "What did I just watch?" It's whole but leaves you feeling empty. PS: My favorite part was probably when they reach the city near the end of the show. Something about wandering around a mostly isolated, empty city is fascinating, and haunting.

[@fankidtastic]

Your opinion is yours, and I respect that. But going into the passion project of someone, and then expecting it to be their most famous work sets yourself up to be disappointed, Wolf's Rain is not meant to be cowboy bebop, it's not related, the cast enjoyed the concept and did what they could to create it. It is its own point, its own project. It was mostly meant to atmospheric, not meant to be super tied into the action, comedy or too deep into the characters. Their purpose is to be hoped for, but they aren't the focus.

[@ramonandrajo6348]

And?

[@cranberry_the_xviii9458]

Expecting the next work from a group of people to be as good as their previous work is just having standards🤣Whether the creators themselves intended to meet their own bar is on them. He never expected it to be EXACTLY Cowboy Bebop, he just expected something that would reach the quality of it. If you have to IGNORE a piece of media's ties to ANOTHER piece of media to really enjoy it, that's a bad thing. (And for context I think none of what you say is the case, the show has good aspects to it and just fails in some key areas that make it reallt disappointing as a whole, and you don't need to "block cowboy bebop" out of your mind to enjoy the good, at the same time acknwoledging flaws helps us grow so there's no need to ignore those either.

[@DurielMoore]

@@cranberry_the_xviii9458 It doesn’t get any more simpler.

[@GracefulNanami]

Wolf's Rain is beautiful and a great example of tragdey done correctly.

[@DeadpoolX9]

that spelling of tragedy as tragdey is beautiful for an anime kinda failing at being tragic

[@GracefulNanami]

troll more on a four year old comment @@DeadpoolX9

[@fatcat1414]

Wolf's Rain is very much a love-or-hate kind of series. While it does have its flaws, it's very clear a lot of passion and love went into it.

[@raze667]

Huh, the humans have human drives, and the wolves are inscrutable and/or not relatable. THEY'RE WOLVES!

[@Lahabiel]

Thank you, how did he not get that?

[@SpikeJet2736]

So why are we following them?

[@raze667]

@@SpikeJet2736 Something something Paradise something something prophecy.

[@ktsalinas5444]

@@raze667 by the way you said it there. It sounds like you know very little about Wolf's Rain.

[@ktsalinas5444]

@@SpikeJet2736 because it's Unique. I love the idea of having a story where the main characters of are wolves. Just because a character is not human and it instead an animal doesn't mean you can't have a character that's relatable. If done right that is. Cuz I'm not trying to say but the main characters of Wolf's Rain are the deep are relatable and I will admit they are a bit one-dimensional and could have been better.

[@sonokawaray]

Of course, there *are* those of us who watched Wolf's Rain without knowing/realizing it had anything to do with the Bebop folks, and that affords a certain perspective that, while still not in a vacuum (nothing ever truly is), does allow the show to be seen through a different lens; one where its merits and shortcomings may stand or fail differently with the viewer. And from the angle of someone who never made that connection regarding the creators, and had only seen a few Cowboy Bebop episodes at the time...I'll still never say this anime was a flawless masterpiece (the less than 3-dimensional wolf characters and things about the last few episodes come to mind), but what it did right has stayed with me for years. I need more anime that nail atmosphere the way Wolf's Rain did. That said, a word of advice to anyone wanting to watch it: there's a bunch of recap episodes about halfway into the series. Skip them. The pacing is so much better that way.

[@MrMook9000]

Not gonna lie, I think Wold's Rain is the greatest TV anime ever made. But at this point I've long given up on trying to convince anyone to think the same.

[@Hawbitten]

I still love it!

[@WolfsRainHD]

It's up there on my list. :)

[@CelticMagician]

I personally agree with you.

[@history_loves_anime8927]

My cousin is still cursing me for showing her the show :) She loves it but hates the ending, something about reminding her too much of Lost, but I loved it, ending and all even if I wish it was happier.

[@sothedain5801]

I may not agree but I'm happy you have something that brings you so much joy!

[@theopulentone1650]

"He's just following instincts." HE'S A WOLF! A WOLF!!!

[@betorockmetal]

@@DergonBaals Wasn't supposed to. Wolf's Rain is not your "typical" cool movie or series... It's just the story of 4 wolves and a flower struggling in an post-apocalyptic dystopian alternate time. Kiba was the most instinctive and savage because he wasn't related to humans while the other 3 wolves actually lived among humans before. It's not that hard to understand and it doesn't have to be different so YOU or anyone can feel some kind of COMFORT with an actual wolf.... There are humans in the story too and they are obviously more relatable to us as humans but those are secondary characters.

[@primalycia]

@@betorockmetal You saying the other three were around humans and Kiba wasn't is completely ignoring the fact that Kiba was raised by humans from a young puppy.

[@fnglert]

I liked Wolf's Rain. Not a masterpiece by far, but I found it an enjoyable watch - as far as something so dour and depressing can be 'enjoyed'.

[@titanicww2345]

Wolf's Rain world is inspired by Russia for sure. A lot of Cyrillic lettering, druids and a long history of a noble class in Russia. Also Russians are a bit cynical, I can personally attest to that.

[@Crazelord91]

You can argue FMA and then Death Note were the next Beebops. Not in style but in affect; as introductory anime for their time. They may have not been as mature (Beebop is much more nuanced and less melodramatic) but they were great introductions to anime for outsiders while still being a highly respected with intelligent writing and dealing with darker themes, for their times. And especially with DN, there are many non anime fans who love it and only it; which is similar to a number of Beebop fans.

[@Bluargh02]

Fma brotherhood is definitely adult in its themes.

[@Crazelord91]

@@Bluargh02 It is, but it's still a Shonen at heart where emotions and friendship save the day. And Death Note is also adult in themes but a bit melodramatic and angsty. I absolutely love both of them but Beebop is a lot more "mature" stylistically and how it portrays the situations and characters with more depth and nuance.

[@NimhLabs]

Wait... so... were Astroboy, Speed Racer and Fables of the Green Forest the previous Beebops?

[@Crazelord91]

@@NimhLabs I'd only argue Astroboy was, since the other 2 didn't really bring in a new fandom for anime but were just popular by themselves. But I'd argue that Miyazaki films had a similar impsct to Beebop and Akira as well

[@judeskater93]

Crazelord91 while that may be true, the use of emotions and friendship is certainly a lot better handled than in other series, I'm looking at you fairy tail. That being said, it's not necessarily the driving the force of the series either, I.e. power of friendship emotional feelings or asspulls saving the day for them or unlocking a new power, hell if anything it definitely has the elements of a shounen but it honestly doesn't feel like one, like it started as a shounen but it stepped up to the next level. It's kind of hard to describe, but while it's not exactly the next bebop, it's definitely in the list of top 10 anime you need to see, at least that's my opinion about it.

[@nightmarefanatic1819]

Coming back to this to send my condolences to the family and fans of Wolf's Rain Keiko Nobumoto who recently passed away. In addition to collaborating with Watanabe, she also wrote for amazing anime like Macross Plus and Tokyo Godfathers. Rest in Peace Nobumoto, you were a talent that will be missed.

[@krystaldragon17]

I had no idea Wolf's Rain was seen as a successor to Cowboy Bebop. Holy shit I like this show but in no way would it live up to that hype.

[@Fickji]

I remember it being on at the same time as Cowboy Bebop.

[@q8tenchi]

This anime series brought me to tears

[@statesminds]

Same

[@tehgerbil]

Same also I cry so much at it

[@dull_demon4717]

It still brings me to tears

[@wahwahqueenmew8953]

I cried a bunch as well

[@alexsacco776]

Me too

[@donovanchilton5817]

PRETTY BOYS WITH PROBLEMS ....yeah.

[@sewcat6486]

Donovan Chilton this is why we have gay men to love them .

[@phantomdragon3893]

Pretty boys that may or not be wolves sometimes

[@devinweathers7520]

P.b.w.p

[@aceland5653]

Lol. I laughed so hard at that statement

[@AnimetalViking]

I thought I wasn't going to like this anime, but, by the end I absolutely loved it. Sure, it's no masterpiece by any stretch, but, as a tone piece, I liked it. Also, even though most of the characters just felt like they acted that way for the sake of the plot, it definitely had it's moments where I could feel a connection to them and be invested. I would also say that for the actual world and 'lore' that Wolf's Rain has, it's one of those shows that I personally felt was a perfect example of 'show don't tell'. If they had answered too many of the questions about the world and characters, I don't think this show would even have a sliver of the charm that it has for some viewers who like the idea of leaving things up to imagination and that includes me. I'd still recommend that people check this show out at least once, but, like you said in the video, you need to be in a certain mood for it.

[@buggyyuji851]

Same

[@MichaelHaneline]

Samurai Champloo felt way more like Bebop's spiritual successor than Wolf's Rain did, despite all the Bebop Alumni that worked on the latter.

[@alicenolfi2095]

I first watched 'Wolf's Rain' in high school, and I cried like a baby. Now that I'm older, I can see the flaws but still remember clearly why I loved it. Having Bennett review it is the best way I could've gone back to looking at this anime :)

[@LautrecOfCarim]

Thanks to Berserk that scene at 24:47 is now... deeply worrying to me.

[@danielramsey6141]

Which scene from berserk?

[@LautrecOfCarim]

@@danielramsey6141 The one with the talking horse.

[@NovemberCrystal]

@@danielramsey6141 What an innocent soul.

[@DrMecha]

@@danielramsey6141 where the horse attempted to rape a woman, only to be beheaded by Guts. Scene in question: kzbin.info/www/bejne/oojdhKCbi9-Abq8

[@IamMeHere2See]

Pretty boys with problems wants me to rewatch his review of Gundam Wing.

[@razgrizmagi3225]

Great work as always. I have a pretty different opinion about the characters: what would happen if you see them as animals, stripping down all the anthropomorphic elements from them, and watch their journey as some kind of animal migration? If you see the as animals following pure instincts, free from the most complex parts of human reasoning, but still sentient, in the most basic way? When I do that, they seem more complete, to me.

[@elyssacaouettedavies1212]

It was amazing. I was maybe 7 but it made me learn about the importance of our actions and showed me that looking for a paradise might not lead to what you were looking for, but also showed me that hope is important but to not always run your life on just hope, to look around yourself and realize you might not need to find paradis cause it might be in front of you. Showed me that you can lose people... to charish the little things you have.

[@RabblesTheBinx]

Meh, I never had a problem separating Wolf's Rain from Bebop. They're very different stories with very different settings. Wolf's Rain isn't perfect, by any means, but the comparisons to Bebop really *do* harm what is honestly a pretty damned good show. Take that exact same show and just have everyone from Bebop use a pseudonym so people don't know it's the Bebop people, and you'd find that people would give it a much more fair shake. Also, it probably helps that I'd only seen, like, 5 episodes of Cowboy Bebop before I got into Wolf's Rain. Still one of my favorite shows, and still one of only 3 anime series I ever actually purchased in full. And Bebop wasn't even one of those 3.

[@ThexDynastxQueen]

As someone who watched Bebop many times prior to Wolf's Rain, I loved Wolf's Rain for the experience it was. I don't see why the comparison is made when it's not a Watanabe series nor how it add values. To me it just hinders engaging with the material itself because you're so focused on what it's not instead of what it actually is. But this has been my ultimate issue with these types of _"lookit I saw a thing"_ reviews as the lack of analyzing themes, inspiration, atmosphere, figurative language, etc leaves a lot unexplored. It sucks.

[@SaiScribbles]

Wolf's Rain is so very flawed with a plot that's not sure exactly where it wants to go and why (kind of like the characters) and yet.... I've watched through about 4 times (barring the filler episodes) and there is just something about it that I find oddly compelling.

[@AdaptiveReasoning]

"From the creators of Cowboy Bebop comes... disappointment." Nope. Nope nope nope. This show was the opposite of disappointment. It was too beautiful and deep for this world. I did see Bebop after Wolf's Rain so that might color my lenses a bit, but I remember not caring for Bebop coming from the other direction. It was too shallow? There wasn't enough to dig through and discover and look at in a literary way in comparison. Same for Champloo, though even more so.

[@AdaptiveReasoning]

(The nobles are wolves that went full human and because of their natural ability to use alchemy (like all wolves can) they became the ruling class over all of humanity. They don't know this several generations down the line, but it's why they instinctively do what they do. They represent demigods in the Bhavacakra/Saṃsāra cycle, of which the show relies on like Pilgrim's Progress relies on the Bible. Real humans are caught in the middle.) See this is the junk I live for and want more of.

[@Lahabiel]

Thank you friend. I too saw Wolf's Rain divorced from the connection to Bebop and thought it was fantastic. I feel that Sage's gripe about the wolf characters' personalities is his most legitimate, however I remember hearing they were made intentionally less relatable as they weren't human in the first place.

[@ThexDynastxQueen]

I saw Bebop first and loved it. Saw Wolf's Rain next and loved it. Saw Champloo after and loved it as well. Maybe I'm inconsistently too easy to please but for me I'm perfectly fine not fully understanding a story (though I greatly appreciate the explanation, AdaptiveReasoning.) if the art, animation, music, etc creates an atmosphere that resonates with me whether it be sad or happy as fuck. Wolf's Rain did that beautifully. I really don't recall it being billed as a Bebop successor as it lacked Watanabe nor do I remember all this flack I'm seeing here back when it aired on Adult Swim (then again FMA 2003 aired next so all focus did shift) but meh oh well.

[@titanicww2345]

It was a memorable show for sure, very unique.

[@williammcneil6730]

um beautiful ? it was depressing on top of depressing, like i have depressing and i found it more depressing than other depressing stuff

[@tHeWasTeDYouTh]

21:08 Wolf's Rain Soundtrack III was never released!!!! so we have stuff like the Noble Theme that was never put out on cd or digital download!!! all that music lost forever

[@otakutsukonko]

I really enjoyed Wolf's Rain, I even bought the soundtrack from my local Suncoast Video. Definitely one of my favorite anime CDs I ever got. (really wish I had more than the few I do, but the sun set on Suncoast too soon.)

[@eamonndeane587]

Yokko Kano and Steve Conte always make magic when they Collaborate on music together.

[@Zelkiiro]

The story of Wolf's Rain was good enough, but the biggest draw of Cowboy Bebop was its excellent characters and astounding aesthetics, and while Wolf's Rain had the latter down pat, it dropped the ball completely on the former.

[@AphelionApproaches]

I know this video is old, I hope this message reaches you. You called so many of the "cracks" in this animation as the exact premise of this piece. Tsume "dragging down the plot" plays into literally 98% of the story. His arc changing in the end "out of nowhere" should have come as no surprise. Kiba being the protagonist as a "device of the story" or a "God damned tool" is literally the point. There's nothing special about him. He doesn't kill people in one punch, he doesn't kill anyone just because he can to prove points, he can't change into a Super Saiyan at will, he doesn't have superhuman qualities and he looks frail as all hell. That is the point from the beginning when you see him almost dead under a tree. Maybe you didn't catch the point from the beginning; Wolf's Rain is not a new story but a new way of telling a very, very old story with a very intentional musical score.

[@cosmicramen6397]

This show will always have a place in my heart

[@Crazelord91]

Everyone else's favorite 90s anime is Beebop and are waiting for a worthy succesor, and here I'm sitting in the corner crying that we'll never get another masterpiece like Berserk 1997

[@TheHandHistoryVault]

You only speak for yourself.

[@Crazelord91]

@@TheHandHistoryVault Yes, that's why I wrote this in "first person perspective"...

[@theopulentone1650]

I agree Berserk 97 is way better than Bebop.

[@Crazelord91]

@@theopulentone1650 I wouldn't say that personally. I happen to enjoy Berserk 97 significantly more (to a point I get a feeling of emotion sometimes when I think of it) but in objective quaility it isn't better. Just depends on your tastes

[@KnightBX]

Until Japan gets its shit together and stop making these typical harem anime, or just the usual high school plot, we ain’t going to get anime like they were before. Breaks my heart really.

[@Germania9]

In 0079 One Year War seemed like just another foreign war, but it wasn't It was different in many ways, as so were those that did the fighting In World War II the average age of the combat soldier was twenty-six In Gundam he was nineteen In inininininin Gundam he was nineteen In inininininin Gundam, he was nineteen In Gundam, he was nineteen N-n-n-n-nineteen *Well, you did pitch "Vietnam with Gundams"....*

[@DigitalFulcrum]

Isn't that what 8th MS Team was about?

[@Germania9]

@@DigitalFulcrum Yeah, that's why I post lyrics to Paul Hardcastle's song.

[@sneakyking]

You could say he had a howel of a time.

[@sneakyking]

1st comment and i fluffed it.

[@FullmetalNinja25]

Goddamn it Barb!

[@Bladez10]

I dunno, seems like the series kind of dogged him down with how his expectations and the plot strayed from each other.

[@sneakyking]

@@Bladez10 you certainly told quite the tail.

[@kalebsantos72]

Stefan Paszki boo

[@lamcb.9476]

8:41 damnit I knew you were goanna play that clip. ... Im not cryin, you are!

[@madjamproductions]

You’re right, I AM CRYING!!

[@sarrowthehedgehog]

Why did he have to play that clip :(

[@dull_demon4717]

Just don't think to hard about it

[@Amgarrak]

Its a show with ten tons of style, but barely a pound of actual substance behind it. There is character growth and there is story beyond: "find paradise" - Kiba . However its like water being squeezed from a stone with how little is actually given from episode to episode. As for the pacing, its slower than a glacier, especially when even the manga did a retake of it and took only two volumes (AKA 11 chapters) to tell the full story. Its not that it needs to be action-packed, but it needs to be entertaining with at least the dialogue and interactions of the main characters, but the script doesn't allow for even that. Combine it all together and its why people may see it as "boring". It shouldn't be boring. The idea of wolves that can disguise themselves as humans to blend into a post-apoclatpytic society and are compelled to find a specific flower? It has the trappings of something that could be very good and beloved, keyword being "could".

[@joeco9513]

aight thanks, I feel less crazy. Which is sad, because I think I'm in the same boat as you. From the instant I laid my eyes on it "I wanted to like it". Objectively though, Yoko Kanno does work here and so did the background artists.

[@AndreaMontanoArtist]

Adolescent me: "oh cute boys...! And sure a plot. Adult me: "yeah this one is a little messy to explain..."

[@AndreaMontanoArtist]

@Brandon Roberts there was plenty of yaoi online, as an adult I have issues on how the series's plot was directed just like Bennet says because when I rewatched it now strikes me a super preachy.

[@sleepsun4176]

I always tell people who seek this out later. There’s an important aspect we as viewers miss. These are wolves they don’t know how to be human. And looking for some compelling human/character development isn’t there. And we given actual humans to compare that too

[@mariawhite7337]

I think I remember it being implied with Kiba that he is a PURE BLOOD WOLF with no distillation compared to the others. This is compared to the half breed girl wolf. Remember more now, such a thing comes from the ending and just... what happens there.

[@RabblesTheBinx]

They're all full-blooded wolves, with the exceptions of Blue and Darcia

[@AdmiralFarcri]

BennettTheSage the anime reviewer we always wanted but don't deserve.

[@golgarisoul]

He may not be a 'reviewer' in the traditional sense, but *Nearly On Red* is my current favourite up and coming anituber.

[@KhayJayArt]

We need more Sages and less Digibros.

[@peytonk9264]

@@KhayJayArt YES.

[@ShadowWolfRising]

I'd settle for more Anime reviewers who are as sick of Moe and Fanservice as I am.

[@Syfoll]

@@KhayJayArt We need more Sages and more Digibros

[@elijahaitaok8624]

"Prety boys with problems!" Did you mean: M A J E S T I C B E I N G S I N C O N F L I C T

[@91Definite]

Good one 😂!

[@bilbybloom]

I think with the Cheza being made by humans point, shes not actually supposed to be created by humans ? .. Shes supposed to be a flower and the wolves only needed the flower to open Paradise, they never needed Cheza to become what she was created to be. At the end of the anime we see Kiba walking only with the flower, and he is able to open 'Paradise' with it. So, she didn't need to be created by humans, the humans just took the flower and made it into a human for their own ease of opening Paradise ? Maybe because the humans can't open paradise with only a flower. Thats how I saw it anyway.

[@thewalrusclown]

13:30 You DO realise that wolves rain is meant to be allegorical of the book if revelations in the bible and Kiva's bland mary-suishness comes from the fact thst he's meant to be the christ stand-in, right????????

[@SalemArc]

Ah, I missed this anime

[@PACKERMAN2077]

Oddly it was on someone's list I think of best English dubs...

[@slainemccool2875]

I love wolfs rain it’s depressing as hell tho so beware 😅

[@Pooky1991]

I love this show. I think it was one of the 1st anime to make me shed actual tears. I kind of wish we still got anime with serious settings like this in the mainstream.

[@LowellLucasJr.]

The ending always left a bad taste in my mouth...like an unsatisfying feeling of doubt and disappointment at the same time... The soundtrack, however, is a breath of life with great applaud!

[@nozoto]

23:48 "The flesh of the walrus is succulent and sweet, yet its cruelty knows no bounds".

[@equinoxxy1708]

Wolf's Rain still rocks no matter what. Best anime among many.

[@CappnRob]

Gundamcember is now A Thing and this excites me, especially because fuck yeaaah 8th MS Team (even if it is the most uneven of the UC OVAs imo). Does this possibly mean Marchcross will make a come back? HMMM.

[@wretneck]

When your main protagonists are Vash, Alucard, Tai, and Izzy

[@KenpachiSesshomaru]

I love how you talk about these special anime, the way you talk about them is so sophisticated, I really want you to talk about samurai shamploo

[@NatalieAliciaNorment]

I'm a huge Wolf's Rain. It tore at me from time to time. But of course I enjoyed it. It also made me want to write a fanfic. 2021: I decided not to write a fanfic. Instead I plan to write an original story as a spiritual successor to Wolf's Rain. Thank you Sage for this review.

[@gunfighter009]

Oh I super confused this with spice and wolf.

[@bretsheeley4034]

Spice and wolf was much more fun. I wish it had continued.

[@AlphabetSoup3000]

I forgot how much mascara everyone in this anime wears.

[@aichafrikha]

hi bennet, i will point out straight out that amongst all the anime i watched movies or series wolf's rain has always been, and still is my fav, including all of myazaki work (which is by the way my favourite mankaga. and yoko kanno is also my fav i have spend nights studing for exams to the soundtracks of wolf's rain, visions of escaflown and cowboy bebop. also i am one if the unbiased persons who watched wolf's rain wayy before cowboy bebop( i only watched it a month ago, though i knew its OST by heart, and that in itself is a unique ewxperience, also the only time it occured to me to draw a parallel between the two show was when hub was about to die and held a cigar to the sky i remebered spike in the final scene when he said his famous "bang". So i am perfectly unbiased having no knowledge of the relationship between the two shows beyond yoko kanno's music. and here is how i experienced wof's rain, it came in my life at 13 when i had no real notion of purpose, of pursuing sth beyond my self, the recurring theme of mankind cutting ties with nature and its devastating consequences felt srongly for me, the love arcs between cher and hub was educational, that faith in one"s partener resisting distances hardships its simply beautiful. for me its also about biases and how they could shape one's person view of the world, kiba thought there was no pride in taking human form and was simply lethal to the slightest threat coming from humans as shown in his first scene with tsume's gang. and by the by a bridge has formed to him actively banding with humans, tsume too perceived humans as means to an end and changes his point of view, quint also changed his view even if it was at the very last moment. there is no villans in wolf's rain, each person"s action is driven by a deeply personal tragic story, darcia is the perfect example, he was not born evil, he was just a man in love, with heavy family baggage that caught up to him, and who refused to accept his wolf's part from the beggining and chose bias over making his own opinion, jaguara is a jaded woman with too much resources and a fatal attraction. her and arkam are examples of how people can become unhinged when consumed my their own sens of power, the show also adresses how people with power ad acting on their whims xan reak havoc over an entire set of population, playing god, palying with people lives leaving them to squabble over scraps, or zombifying them in the form of a confortable little life (in juagara's town) the shut up and do not think mentality (i actually know what dictatorship feels like i experienced that during my formative years, so this theme striked me very poignantly, when blue then quint where screaming at the people to wake up and care about what lay beyond their cities : it resonnated deeply with me because that's how i viewed at age 13 most of the developed world, a wealthy place where people has no conception of wars happening in other countries, of world's conflicts their politicians instigated, leaving misery behind them while the people are being confortable and oblivious to all that horror, sitting in their nice little homes eating their nice burgers, not giving a single F**k to what their priviledges is costing to other people just beyond their door steps. as a femal, i like that the women characters were not overly sexualized and had intrinsic value for what they could contribute, even cheza the apparently docile delicate flower playes an active role in all of this, she wants to stand up for herself. kiba, as i see it is pure instinct, and this does not bother me in any way, of all of the wolf's he has spend the least time amongst humans so he is mostly wolf instinct, he is the most atuned to nature, and even he is not the driving force behind the story, his consistancy to persuing his straight line is a big driving force of the show, toboe is whiny character cauz he is a kid and he is the only one who knows of to experience true joy, he is part of the glue that binds many people together. and saying that tsume has no real depth is never having experienced on a personal level the hedgehog dilemma (look for it) he tries to redeem the death of that kid who died on his watch by caring grumpily about toboe. he is profound i go and rewatch this anime when i want to remember my teenange self her dreams and where i am today compared to them, i go to it when i need to bask in melancoly, whan i need to feel deeply about things, when i need a good cry, when i need to reflect on the nature of life and purpose, it is openly philosophical and yet not a mindfuck like evangelion. and cowboy bebop is mostly about the meaning of nothingness, of the purpose of aimlessness, wolf s rain is about the purpose of being alive, for each character it a story of what drives you to continue living and being satisfied with yourself at the end of day, even the army commander of freeze city has taken a stand for himself and his men

[@SuiteLifeofDioBrando]

I liked Cowboy Bebop, but I prefer Trigun.

[@all-stargam3rpunk]

I love them both but I do agree

[@drsatanrx]

Bebop overshadowed the superior outlaw star

[@AnimeFreakLucky7]

Outlaw Star is where its at! Love that show!

[@kostajovanovic3711]

+drsatanrx superior? Hardly

[@sewcat6486]

Suite Life of Dio Brando I think the plot is better in trigun.

[@SoloAxlion]

5:45 Oops, PC rebooting from crash in the background.

[@Trilaan]

I'm currently re-experiencing the series due to friends of mine covering it on their podcast(Tooning Japanese, the show where 3 dudes in their 30s talk about anime) and I am still a fan of it in story, characters and music(Gravity and Strangers make it onto every playlist I make). Still...a story that focused on Quent and Blue would have been wonderful.

[@earnestbrown6524]

Yes, Quent and Blue is the best part.

[@starbird3939]

(Sees Bennet as a dog) .... (immediately clicks on video and squees) Curse you, Doggy Bennet! Cute puppies are my weakness!

[@00Boogie]

So in retrospect the show was a darker, grittier Homward Bound.

[@dull_demon4717]

Pretty much

[@deathsyth8888]

"Who's a good shapeshifting wolf/human? You are! You are!"

[@josh420masterB]

I enjoyed Wolf's Rain, it wasn't a masterpiece; but I have yet to rewatch the last couple episodes without bawling like a little bitch. But yes, between this and Samurai Champloo; I definitely see the latter as the true spiritual successor to Cowboy Bebop.

[@vashstarwind36]

(nodding)

[@SnakeyZedd]

Thanks for this review Bennett, it sure gave me a second chance and look at this series again. Even my fathers passing dragged me down a bit but I am glad your cheerful grin washed away the problems I was facing.

[@annegrey6447]

I saw this before Cowboy Bebop & Wolf's Rain along with Outlaw Star were what really got me into anime despite DBZ & YYH being the first anime I saw.

[@vashstarwind36]

Word. 👍 #VashStarwind

[@kuyerthunder]

Wolf's rain is my favorite anime and also the first one where I sat down and watched from one end to the other (might be part of the reason I like it so much) but I can definatly see your points. For me I guess it was just more about the emotion I got when watching it :)

[@DairyDuke]

I wanted to like Wolf's rain too, but each time it came on adult swim I found myself just going to a different channel or going to bed.

[@SarahsKnight0]

15:12 - The little kid in the middle (forgot his name already watching this) just inevitably reminds me of Michael Baldwin's character from Phantasm.

[@neo84401]

This is my favorite final fantasy anime.

[@yamikazenokiba5377]

That was a very fair review, good points too. I wasn't even aware of the connection to beepop since I'm just a bit too young for it. Thank you!

[@pathora44]

I LOVE YOU SAGE! You are going to review 08th MS Team my absolute favorite gundam series/ova. I love that series and it still has the best fight, IMO, in the franchise with Norris vs the 08th MS team. Top everything off with no newtypes or unbeatable gundam ms in the series. Just normal pilots fighting in above average mass produced gundams in a war bigger then all of them.,

[@johnnyfountainS]

I have the 08th ms team and many other Gundam shows and movies reviewed on my channel dude.

[@SweetestSweden]

This. This this this. This. This. I might have been introduced to Gundam as a whole with Wing, but I only really got the 'War is Hell' message (and could actually appreciate it) via 08th.

[@barrybend7189]

I would love for him to review SD Gundam Force just to have a Gundam reference counter.

[@johnnyfountainS]

@@barrybend7189 I don't like sd gundam

[@barrybend7189]

@@johnnyfountainS I got into Gundam through SD Gundam Force. But I'm right now watching the original MSG plus the infamous episode 15.

[@93shone]

It was interesting to see another point of view on this show. For me, it was one of the most memorable experiences i had, along side the Beserk. I watched these shows when i was really little, like in elementary school, and they hit me like a truck emotionally. I think they changed me even tho i watched it only once (i tried to watch it more, but its too emotional for me now). I really liked the wolfs and the whole mysterious lore even tho i didnt understand it well. After the show i cried, because i didnt know the main protagonists could die (keep in mind i was in elementary school, so DBZ, pokemons, and digimons got me into this world, and they are quite different from these shows) and that destroyed me. After watching Wolfs Rain, i always wanted to have a white wolf and name it Kiba, and finally i got it 4 years ago. Its the first dog i ever had, and i love him endlessly. Now i have i fond memories of this show, and im reminded of it every time i come back home and get greeted by Kiba (btw, he really looks like him, its scary) :D....Anyway its interesting to see how the same stuff can affect different people when they are in different circumstances in their lives.

[@geardog24]

It's sad that this is the closest we'll get to a descent werewolf anime.

[@Klonoa7H]

What about Wolf Children?

[@Snowmon89]

Movies don't count. As awesome as that film is. (^_^)

[@PsychoCircusMonkey]

@@needles-mk9sp I think he means shows.

[@geardog24]

Klonoa7H It's a great movie, but personally I want a series about werewolves that just as popular a vampire anime.

[@SilvarusLupus]

And they aren't even werewolves

[@DigitalLoom]

damn your intro was the best ive ever seen on youtube that animation mixed with anime was so dope!!!!!!

[@antina888]

BennettTheSage in his examples of weird/goofy out of nowhere tone shifts left out the ENTIRE episode where Kiba hooked up with a female cat / marsupial thing comes back to the pack all relaxed and Tsume basically says, "You got laid." Kiba is like yeah and the four walk off into the F-ing sunset roll credits, done, never brought up again.

[@NaruLuckyCarrot]

Glad someone mentioned it, it’s perhaps one of the things I remember most of this series just for the WTH-ness of it.

[@HORSESNDOGS9]

What?! I don't remember that...

[@Cptking235]

I love that most of us disagree with this guy and think Wolfs Rain is great. 😂😂

[@SpiritKitten]

I wanted to like this show but for some reason I remember being bored halfway through

[@Puerco-Potter]

It's because the show get more boring and wierdly more nonsensical as it goes...

[@ianbrowning7437]

I gave it three episodes and was bored and confused...and had to listen to all my friends ull the proto-hipster "you`re not sophisticated enough to understand this crap" it just came off as pretentious to me.

[@CornishCreamtea07]

@@ianbrowning7437 No offence but if you got confused within the first 3 episodes, I think your friends were in the right.

[@SpiritKitten]

I actually came into anime late so I didn't see this on tv but DVD, and I initially got into this because I think I was crushing on Kiba, but I couldn't grasp his character and the crush waned

[@alekpo2000]

@@SpiritKitten this anime seems depressing as fuck, no way anyone older than 15 would stay tuned

[@coldshoulder8550]

It's funny, I saw wolf's rain long before I saw cowboy bebop. Even after watching bebop I had no idea they were even made by the same company. I know how to separate the art from the artist. To try to not let someone's previous work effect their next. That said I thought cowboy bebop was just... Ok. Everybody hyped cowboy bebop like it was something you just had to experience and would blow every other show out of the watter. The thing is though I could talk forever about wolf's rain and all the memorable scenes I hardly Remeber anything from bebop. I think people Remember bebop because it impacted them when they were young and hold it high because of nostalgia. But that's just my opinion just like this video is yours. Regardless thank you for the video. It's always good to see an other's perspective of something you like even if you may disagree.

[@OnDavidsBrain]

24:41 Hello wolves, my name is Mr Ed.

[@jaredsamples6969]

I thought of Hot to Trot myself.

[@zoidsfan12]

Wolf's rain appeals to me because I was a depressed teen when I watched it. Watching the world wither and having wolf symbolism are my bread and butter. Hell I'm getting a sleeve focused around sköll and hati from Norse mythology.

[@MrDarksol]

I remember when I was a kid I had watched Wolf's rain for the first time and I was so freaking lost. I just couldn't understand much about the show other than the fact that apparently with a team of Ichigo Kurosaki as the main character Tai and Izzy both from Digimon and Itachi from Naruto, they are boring and the side characters are far more interesting. I did remember liking the music though but regardless......fanboy squeal yes Gundam month and double yes 8th Ms team!!!!!!!!!!

[@mobymobymobymoby]

i really really really love your Adult Swim/Toonami way of doing intermissions man. I always pause them to look at.

[@morganmcinroy4211]

Too many digimon adventure voice actors in this show lol. So distracting. Not that they aren't doing a good job.

[@doodlebugfour7070]

Morgan McInroy Well it is a Bandai Entertainment dub.

[@MRDLT00]

Okay I'm not the only one noticing it. XD

[@Sonicfalcon16]

Yeah I'm like hi joshua seth and mona marshal.

[@36inc]

if you look at the list of work people from digimon get into you prolly have several videogames and animes with atleast 3 of them in it. "tales of" fans and fighting games especially- one of the guys in this is Asteroth in SC. Noutas Va from FLCL is in here as the annoying brat- obviously Tai's Va is in nearly everything.

[@vladimirenlow4388]

On the contrary, I think the fact that the actors could do a hard, angsty show like WR as well as the more kid-friendly "Digimon" speaks to their inherent talent. And let's face it, "Digimon" was also an apocalypse story at heart, just more colorful. I do remember this one time on the AS message boards where some pretentious snot was bitching about Digimon, saying it was such a stupid show with third-class voice actors. Why, you'd never catch the likes of Crispin Freeman working on a show like that. And I had the pleasure of pulling up Crispin's entry on Crystal Acids and showing that he, indeed, had done voicework on that franchise--human characters and even a few mons! #pwned

[@sayanyasaha5239]

I watched this anime when I was 5. It left a deep impression on me because while i was too small to fully understand the complexities of the show, it left me in quite an emotional turmoil which made me remember and Google it up when I grew up and had internet connection

[@helious5056]

Oh yeah a new episode

[@jacobellison1763]

But... Toboe fought a walrus!

[@johannesmakila2459]

Thing is while Cowboy Bebop is masterpiece is not end all. There is lot of good anime that are totally different to it that deserve to be watched and enjoyed.

[@saramations]

this is true. that's why have this sort of... grudge(?) against bebop. it's the "i hate anime but i loved bebop" of anime. it's not the anime's fault, but it just propagates this sense of arrogance among non-anime fans. it just sorta magnifies how most mainstream anime is just shonen. if that makes sense.

[@Scaphandro]

Wolf's Rain has a unique atmosphere, not even Beebop could create something similar. It doesn't have a conventional pace and it lacks of fanservice. I celebrate the production's decision to prioritize art over sales, which is increasingly difficult to find. 10/10

[@avencree]

I remember liking Wolf's Rain but never actually wanting to seek it out to watch when it wasn't on TV. I loved the visuals and the setting, but the characters just fell flat for me. Except for Hige and Blu, they were the only ones I actually liked. The story was not complicated but at the same time was a bit hard to follow as some of it didn't make sense. I remember people saying its plot was so advanced and the characters very involving and if you didn't get it you just weren't "intelligent enough". Triggered some Eva flashbacks. And in that regard Wolf's Rain's problem mirrored Eva's (one of many) problem: you can't put bland characters and their superficial arcs against the back drop of the FUCKING WORLD ENDING. Anyways, great analysis of a show never forgotten but not well remembered.

[@harmonicajay91]

14:43 bit of an editing flub there. Just to alert you to its presence.

[@AquaLantern]

Gundamcember? Hoo boy, looks like we're gonna get even more (Nickleback voice) *PRETTY BOOOYYS WITH PROBLEEEMMMS*

[@otakon17]

But will he cap it with the bombastic, hammy Mobile Fighter G Gundam?

[@comixproviderftw_02]

*Creed voice

[@brittanyyates6527]

So happy you released on my 24th birthday

[@ichihimefan91]

Anyway I grew up watching Wolf's Rain and believe me it was a great anime series though the ending ending was kind of sad but still and to be honest I think Wolf's Rain is way better than durarara sorry not sorry PS Kiba is the best character in Wolf's Rain so yeah come at me bro

[@KKDWTotalObelisk]

Watched Wolf's Rain as part of an anime society when I was at university (along with Black Lagoon, Gurren Lagaan, Abenobashi, Soul Eater & Claymore). I didn't like it (and I'm not sure a lot of the other attendees did either). I think it was picking up at one point but then we hit the four clip shows in a row (and I asked the folks running the society if we could skip those, they said no). After that the society fell apart so I never finished it and I have no motivation to do so unlike the other shows we covered.